Abstract
Gyanbazi, Gyan Baji, a knowledge game of the ‘snakes and ladders’ variety, is a teaching aid, representing symbolically the effect of karma in the progress of the sould towards liberation.
Plate XLVII. Spiritual ideas
b) Painted board for gyanbaji, the game of snakes and ladders. The game is played with dice, and much as the well known nursery game based upon it. The player moves his piece upward according to the number thrown. A player landing at the foot of the ladder is promoted from that square to the top, while a landing on the mouth of a snake precipitates him down to the tail. The squares in the lower section represent the hells, those in the middle the human worlds, and those in the upper the heavens. Among the Jaina, Snakes-and-Ladders is played particularly during the Paryusana Festival.
Gujarat or Rajasthan, c. nineteenth century. Collection Achim Bedrich, Munchen. Photo: Wettstein and Kauf, Zurich.
Jaina Iconography By Jyotindra Jain, Eberhard Fischer, Published by BRILL, 1978 ISBN 9004052593, 9789004052598
34 pages
Snakes and Ladders from Udaipur museum Bagore-ki-Haveli
Photo by http://www.travellerspoint.com/member_profile.cfm?user=armrig
Bagore-ki-Haveli is a haveli in Udaipur in Rajasthan state in India. It is right on the waterfront of Lake Pichola at Gangori Ghat. Amir Chand Badwa, the Prime Minister of Mewar, built it in the eighteenth century. [edit] Overview The palace has over a hundred rooms, with displays of costumes and modern art. The glass and mirror in the interiors are Haveli work. It also preserves an example of Mewar painting on the walls of the Queen’s Chamber. The two peacocks made from small pieces of colored glasses are examples of glasswork. After the death of Badwa the building became the property of Mewar State. It came to be occupied by Maharana Shakti Singh of Bagore, who built the palace of the three arches in 1878, and it acquired its name of Bagore-ki-haveli, the house of Bagore. After independence the structure lay in neglect until 1986, when it housed the West Zone Cultural Centre. The haveli now stages Rajasthani traditional dance and music.
From there we entered the entertainment room where the Mewar family played some popular indoor games like chess, snakes and ladders, chaupad, to name a few. In this room, women of the royal household played during leisure hours with their friends.
Gyan Bazi version from Jaisalmer private museum
Picture taken by Sarah and Chris in little museum called “The Thar Heritage Museum” in Jaisalmer. The owner was very knowledgeable and told us what had started as a hobby of his had turned in to a small, but interesting museum. Source: travelpod.com/members/gingersontour
Diagramme tantrique indien «Gyan bazi» from gaiaauction.com (Paris) 2010
Diagramme tantrique indien «Gyan bazi» «Jeu de la Connaissance» ou «Jeu de la Délivrance». Jeu constitué de cases ornées de poissons et de serpents, l’ensemble est flanqué de deux petits kiosques et surmonté de motifs floraux. Ce jeu se joue avec des pions et des dés, un peu comme le jeu de l’oie. Pigments sur Papier. Inde. XIXe siècle. Encadré : 56 x 52 cm. Estimation : 1 200 / 1 500 €
sergeymoskalev 